Research lines in the PhD programme

This PhD programme is structured around two primary research lines that in turn include several sub-areas. Click on the Faculty tab for more information on the research lines of the programme's professors.

The primary research line "Business and territorial competitiveness" addresses research carried out in the following areas:

  • Conceptualizing and measuring aporophobia
  • Determinants, dynamics, and inequalities of human capital and educational attainment in China
  • Economic and educational inequalities in special economic zones and open cities in China
  • The links between infrastructure development, inequality, and urban sustainability
  • The links between corruption, educational inequalities, and the middle income trap

The primary research line "Organizational management and business competitiveness" addresses research in the following fields:

  • Consumer Behavior (gamification, voice assistants, social media, food consumption, food waste reduction, vegetarian and vegan consumer behavior, tourist behavior, sport consumption, tourist behavior)
  • Services Marketing
  • E-Commerce & Retailing
  • Marketing of tourism destination
  • Resident attitudes of tourism destinations
  • Responsible and sustainable tourism
  • Strategic management (corporate, competitive, internationalization, and digital strategies)
  • Corporate social responsibility
  • Aporophobia
  • Determinants, dynamics, and inequalities of human capital and educational attainment in China 
  • Data science and big data
  • Decision support systems based on artificial intelligence
  • Disruptive technologies in society's new challenges
  • Corporate Governance
  • ESG reporting & performance
  • Investors’ reaction of any corporate event (event study method)
  • Investor’s sentiment analysis
  • Merger & acquisition (M&A)
  • Finance and fintech
     

IQS School of Management Research Groups

Consumer Behavior Perspectives (CONHATIVE)

Research group focused on the study of consumer behavior, digital marketing, sustainability, digital transformation, tourism, and leadership.

Researchers: Dr. Ramon Palau Saumell (Principal Investigator), Dr. Jorge Matute Vallejo, Dra. Belén Derqui. Dr. Jan-Hinrich Meyer, Dr. Noelia Jiménez-Asenjo, Dr. José Luis Sánchez.

Research areas:

  • Brand image, social media
  • Structural equations in marketing
  • Consumer Behaviour

Good Corporate Governance Research Group

This group's research has a clear applied focus and aims to be useful for regulators to establish policies that improve good governance mechanisms.

Researchers: Dr Josep García Blandón (lead researcher), Dr Sílvia Bou Ysàs, Dr David Castillo Merino, Dr Mónica Martínez Blasco, and Dr Gonzalo Rodriguez Pérez.

Research areas:

  • Audit quality
  • Executive compensation
  • Limits of good governance codes

Analytics, Simulations and Inquiry in STEM and Business Education

Research group on higher education teaching in specific disciplines (STEM and Business). This group's research objectives are to improve higher education knowledge and best practices in specific disciplines (science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and business) and employ qualitative techniques to analyse scientific and business data.

Researchers: Dr Jordi Cuadros Margarit (lead researcher), Dr Marianna Bosch Casabò, Dr Lucinio González Sabaté, Dr Francesc Martori Adrian, Dr Antoni Olivé Tomàs, and Dr Vanessa Serrano Molinero.

Research areas:

  • Development and educational use of simulations
  • Analysis based on tracing and quantitative methods
  • Use of modelling and teaching to research benchmark educational strategies
  • Qualitative techniques to analyse scientific and business data

Social Economics and Ethics Group

The Social Economics and Ethics group (or SEE) brings together IQS researchers collaborating on the interface of issues that entail both an ethical background and a social economic aspect, such as poverty, inequality, education, aporophobia, social exclusion, convergence, sustainability, among other issues. 

Researchers: Dr Flavio Comim (IP), Dr Octasiano Valério, Dr Mihály Borsi, Dra Cristina Montañola, Dr Francesco Prior, Dr Llorenç Puig, Dr Oriol Quintana, Dr Xavi Casanovas.

Research areas:

The group is currently working on three distinct research fields, namely, i) aporophobia, ii) Chinese development model and iii) economic growth and dynamic convergence. Each field represents a cluster of different projects. More specifically, under the aporophobia umbrella there is a conceptual investigation about the characteristics of aporophobia, a project about the link between aporophobia and artificial intelligence and a project about the elaboration of an implicit association test (IAT) of aporophobia, funded by Ignited. We are also working on aporophobia and social simulation models. Then, under the Chinese development model umbrella we are working on the impact of preferential policies on inequality in China, with the support of the European Commission. Finally, under the dynamic convergence umbrella there is an investigation of the evolution of human capital in China and the development of indicators about quality and quantity of education, in addition to an analysis of convergence of countries’ HDI.